Storm Surge
by clockworktrain
Summary: Cleo goes missing, leaving behind no trace but a trail of unexpected secrets. With the full moon fast approaching, her friends must worry not only about hiding her secret, but saving her life. Low-key Clewis.
1. Everything is Fine

1.) Everything is Fine

He knew she did not trust him, but he also knew she could never turn down someone who needed help.

The straw made gurgling noises as Rikki slurped the last of her smoothie. She had drunk two smoothies and been through every magazine on the premises, and yet Cleo was still a no-show. Sighing, she idly began to boil the remnants of her drink, watching the thick bubbles pop. She quickly hid the glass in her hands as someone came up behind her booth.

"She's still not here?" Emma asked, sliding onto the bench opposite. She had changed out of her server's uniform, her last shift of the week finally over. Rikki let go of the hot glass and shrugged. "It's not like her to be this late without letting us know," Emma observed.

This was true. Cleo was nothing if not conscientious, and would certainly have texted or called if something was holding her up.

"Did you try texting her?" Emma asked.

" _And_ calling. I even left a voicemail. Should we head out without her?"

"Let's give her five more minutes," Emma suggested. Rikki nodded, reheating the smoothie with a curl of her fingers. The two took turns boiling and freezing Rikki's leftover drink, passing the time until nearly fifteen minutes had gone by.

"She's not coming," Emma finally said. "If we're going to go, we should go. Text her to meet us out there."

"Yeah, alright," Rikki pulled out her phone, thumbing the keys as she followed Emma out of the cafe and into the cool evening air. The three girls had planned to swim out over the reef that night. There was nothing quite like being underwater after dark, and the moon was just full enough to cast a light that made everything glow — but not so full that it posed any threat.

The girls slipped into the water unnoticed and raced to Mako Island. Emma won the race (though that result was highly contested), and pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the moon pool, flicking water at Rikki with her tail. Rikki too heaved herself out of the water, expertly drying herself and steaming up the cave.

"Call Cleo one more time," Emma said, sliding herself back into the pool. Rikki already had her phone to her ear.

"She's not answering," Rikki muttered. When the voicemail greeting beeped, she sighed, then let Cleo know that they were heading out to the reef without her.

"Ready to go?"

"Race you!" Rikki dove headlong into the water and was out of the cave before Emma had taken a breath.

By midnight, all that was left of their concern for Cleo was a niggling sensation in the back of each girl's mind. They comforted themselves with repeated _She'll call us in the morning_ mantras as Rikki and Emma went to sleep that night. When Rikki woke on Emma's bedroom floor tangled in her sleeping bag, Emma was on the edge of the bed, looking worriedly at her phone.

"Anything from Cleo?" Rikki asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"No. Should we be worried yet?"

"I'm sure she's fine. Her dad probably confiscated her phone because she was fighting with Kim or something."

"Sounds about right," Emma chuckled. She expertly made her bed while Rikki rolled up her sleeping bag, then the two girls bounded downstairs for a breakfast of yogurt and fruit. Halfway through their meal, while they were comparing their favorite parts of last night's swim, there was a knock on the door.

"Someone's at the door," Rikki informed Emma.

"Oh, I'll get it! Let me!" Emma volunteered sarcastically.

"It _is_ your house," Rikki rolled her eyes, but followed her to the door. Lewis was on the doorstep, looking perplexed. He invited himself in as soon as Emma opened the door.

"Is Cleo here?" he asked.

"No, why?" Emma followed him out of the foyer.

"I got the weirdest text message from her, and she didn't respond when I texted back, and she hasn't answered my calls, and I know she isn't working today."

"What's the message?"

Lewis held out his phone to show the text Cleo had sent. Rikki squinted at the small screen.

"'Do like demon hate.' What does _that_ mean?"

"I don't have a clue."

"Well I'm pretty sure demons _do_ hate, but I can't imagine Cleo needing to tell you that."

"Maybe she just pocket-dialed you," Emma suggested. "Or, pocket-texted."

"Yeah," Lewis stowed the phone in his pocket. He looked as unconvinced as Rikki felt.

"I don't buy it," Rikki said decisively. The others looked at her. "There's no way that a weird message to Lewis _and_ no one being able to get a hold of Cleo is a coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences."

"No one can get a hold of her?" Lewis asked. The girls shook their heads.

"We've been calling and texting, but I haven't talked to her since yesterday morning," Emma said.

"I haven't seen her since school on Friday," Lewis said.

"Something's wrong," Rikki decided grimly.

"I agree," Lewis nodded.

"Never thought I'd hear those words from you," Rikki smirked. It faded quickly though. "But then where is Cleo?"

"What if something's happened?"

"Alright," Emma held her hands out, suddenly in organization mode. "Before we jump to any conclusions, let's call Cleo's house and make sure there isn't a simple explanation."

She dialed the number on her phone, letting it ring on speaker for the other two to hear. A man's voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi Mr. Sertori, it's Emma. Is Cl—"

"Is Cleo with you?" Mr. Sertori sounded panicked.

"Well, no, that's why we were calling you, we were wondering if—"

"She didn't come home last night. She went to work yesterday and then she didn't come home last night."

The color drained from three faces.

"Are you saying she's not with you?" Mr. Sertori asked pleadingly.

"No, she's — she's not with us."

"Is there anywhere she might be? _Anywhere_?"

"I… Rikki and I will look. We'll get back to you as soon as we can."

She closed the phone and looked at her friends. Rikki's eyes were wide. Lewis was staring unblinkingly over Emma's shoulder, his hand over his mouth.

"Okay," Emma took a deep breath. "Let's try to stay calm. Rikki and I will check Mako and the reefs. Lewis, call anyone you can think of."

"Y-yeah, right. Okay. I'll…I'll do that." He slowly stumbled out of the house in a shocked daze.

They met at the Sertoris' house hours later with no news. The girls had searched their usual ocean haunts, then scoured Mako and every other small island off the coast on foot. They found nothing. _Nothing_. Not a footprint, not a fish scale. Rikki began to wonder if bad news was better than no news.

Mr. Sertori let the girls into the house, looking haggard. He'd already called the police, he told them.

"Yeah, I…I think it's time the police were involved," Emma agreed, trying to maintain her level-headed nature. Rikki's panic was painted on her face.

"They said they would call when twenty-four hours had passed. Then she'll be an official missing person," he said.

"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Rikki asked, her voice betraying her foul mood.

"Well," Mr. Sertori's voice grew thin, "they did say that someone should stay here just in case, and that they'd… They'd see if anyone's been found matching her description."

They all knew what that meant. The police department certainly didn't have a room full of living people waiting to be identified.

"What, so, because you don't have a video of someone screaming from a van or a ransom note made from cut-up magazines, they're going to do _nothing_?" Rikki growled. "We're just supposed to sit here and twiddle our thumbs until she _maybe_ shows up?"

"Rikki," Emma scolded quietly. Rikki calmed down when Emma looked pointedly at Mr. Sertori.

"We've done everything we can think of," Mr. Sertori said. Every word he spoke sounded like a plea for help. "I've called the school, the marine park, the cafe, even the lifeguards down at the beach…."

"And I called Zane, and Ash, and all our friends from school," Lewis piped up worriedly from an armchair. The girls flinched; they hadn't noticed him before. He was chewing on the skin around his thumbnail, his eyes far away. "Even Nate, Miriam, Tiffany.…"

"I appreciate that, Lewis," Mr. Sertori said tiredly, plopping onto the couch and sinking his head into his hands.

"Of course," Lewis responded, glancing at the girls in the entryway. "But I've…I've got to go, actually. I have to see someone. But I'll be back. Soon. Call me if _anything_ changes."

He hurried past Rikki and Emma and out of the door.

"Where is he going?" Rikki asked, incensed. "How could he just leave when –"

"I'm sure he needed to see someone, like he said," Emma placated.

"No. This is unacceptable." Rikki hurried after Lewis and caught him before he reached the sidewalk. "What do you think you're doing? Seeing Charlotte at a time like this?"

Lewis inhaled speak.

"This is a big deal, Lewis. Cleo is _missing_. Charlotte hates Cleo, and you're still choosing her?"

"I—"

"You've known Cleo your whole life, and you're just leaving her family to deal with this alone. Do you not understand what's happening here? Do you even care?"

"Can I say something now?"

"No."

Lewis sighed deeply, walking away.

"Cleo deserves better," Rikki told him before he was out of earshot. He waved her off. She stormed back into the house, throwing herself onto the couch next to where Emma had settled. "Unbelievable."

"I'm sure he had good reason," Emma said.

"Charlotte isn't a good reason," Rikki grumbled, offended on Cleo's behalf.

"Charlotte?" Mr. Sertori looked up, confused. "Charlotte Watsford?"

"Yeah, she and Lewis have been dating for a little while now," Emma explained. Mr. Sertori remembered Charlotte as the nice redhead whose mother's catering business he supplied with fish. He vaguely remembered her mother saying something about Lewis and Charlotte knowing each other, but nothing more.

"I…I didn't know he wasn't still with Cleo."

" _She_ broke up with _him_ ," Rikki said defensively.

"She doesn't tell me anything anymore," Mr. Sertori despaired. "Maybe she _did_ just run away…."

"No, Mr. Sertori," Emma leaned forward. "Cleo is very sensible, and she loves you. She wouldn't do this."

"Dad?" The front door opened, Kim's panicked face coming into view. "Dad, what's going on? Why did I have to come back early?"

Mr. Sertori rushed toward his youngest, bringing her close.

"Come sit, Kim," he led her to sit beside him on the couch. Her eyes were wide, forehead tense. "I'm just going to say this straightaway."

He paused, unable to get the words out. He took a breath to try again but Rikki beat him to it.

"Cleo is missing," Rikki supplied. She wasn't unfeeling, but Kim needed to know the truth.

Kim's eyes got even wider, if possible. Neither Rikki nor Emma had known her to stay quiet for such a long time.

"Do _you_ have any idea where she could be?" Emma asked tentatively. Kim shook her head, tearing up.

"Has something happened to her?" she asked her father.

"We don't know, princess. She just…didn't come home last night."

Kim dissolved into high-pitched sobs, leaning into Mr. Sertori as she cried. Rikki and Emma made eye contact, unable to watch their friend's family weep over her absence. The dread in the room was rapidly turning to panic.

 **A/N: Woah. I'm writing fanfics again? This is a terrible idea because I am a college student, but I've had this story kicking around on my computer for awhile and I'm rewatching the show as a stress reliever. I will update as often as I can (I have the first five chapters written) but don't rely on me. I will say that this takes place in season 2, but sort of replaces "Sea Change." Hope you enjoy!**


	2. Disaster Struck

2.) Disaster Struck

He was right about her — unsurprisingly. Now he had her all to himself.

It felt strange going home that evening, abandoning their vigil, but Mr. Sertori wanted the girls to be with their families. Rikki's dad brought her a mug of tea, but it cooled untouched while she sat lost in thought, her chin on her fist.

"Rikki?" her dad prodded gently. "Kiddo, you'll make yourself sick worrying like this."

"How can I not worry?" Rikki raised her head. "If she's…if Cleo is—" Rikki stopped short, startled by her phone as it rang. "Emma?"

"It's been twenty-four hours."

"And nothing?"

"Nothing."

Both girls sighed, letting silence settle.

"Cleo's mom's coming in," Emma said.

"And?"

"And we need to be there."

"No, we need to leave them alone. We'll only make everything more awkward."

"Kim wants us there."

"Kim? _What_?"

"She called me. She doesn't want to be with her parents alone like this. My mom is driving us over, we'll pick you up."

"Okay."

* * *

The streetlights were too bright for Rikki's eyes as she rode in the back of Mrs. Gilbert's car. The more she blinked the brighter they seemed to be, magnified in a blurry kaleidoscope as she fought her tears. When she pulled into the Sertori driveway, Mrs. Gilbert shut off the car, turning to look at both girls in the weak light.

"I just wanted to say, before we go in there, that you girls have been so brave, and I'm so proud of you both." She took her daughter's hand, and reached the other toward Rikki, who accepted it, grateful for a lifeline.

"But," Mrs. Gilbert continued, "it is not your job to fix this. And it is not your job to keep the peace here. Let me handle Mr. and Mrs. Sertori if need be. The two of you have done more than you needed to already."

There were teary nods and a squeezing of hands all around before each braced herself and got out of the car. No one answered the door when they knocked, so Mrs. Gilbert quietly let them into the house. Rikki could feel the tension before she even crossed the threshold, and it made her sick to her stomach.

"Oh!" Mr. Sertori jumped off the couch when he noticed his visitors. His former wife rose from her spot across the room. Both had puffy eyes.

"Where's Kim?" Rikki asked, skipping any greetings altogether.

"O-out back," Mr. Sertori pointed toward the backyard, and Rikki nudged Emma in that direction.

It was dark in the backyard where Kim lay on the grass, stargazing. She wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here?" Rikki asked harshly as Lewis sat up and whipped around to see her. He just sighed, looking pointedly at Kim.

"Lewis knows all the constellations," Kim explained, her voice thick with tears. "He's teaching them to me. Did you know there's eighty-eight of them?"

Rikki still looked at him distrustfully. Her anger had suppressed into her sadness, but it raged again with sudden strength.

"Where have you _been_ all day? Out with your girlfriend?" she sneered.

"You really think," Lewis's voice sounded tired, "that I could go out and enjoy myself when—"

"Well you certainly have before."

"Yeah? When?!" Lewis was suddenly on his feet, moving toward Rikki. Emma was ushering Kim into the house with hushed promises of ice cream. Rikki had never before seen the expression on Lewis's face. There was a ferocity in his anger, a glint in his eye, that startled her.

"Um—" she stuttered.

"That's right. Never. I've always — _always_ — put Cleo first. Put _all_ of you first. You find it very easy to forget that your little secret changed _my_ life too!"

There was a moment of shocked silence. Rikki shrunk back at first.

"You're just jealous," Rikki egged him on coolly, suddenly regaining her comfort in verbal combat.

"Jealous? Of _what_? Of your magical mermaid powers that prevent you from living a normal life without being terrified that someone will spill their drink and put you on the bench of some power-hungry scientist? Or maybe," Lewis bitterly pretended to think, " _maybe_ I'm jealous that you're completely controlled by the moon! Or maybe I'm jealous that none of you can maintain any sort of relationship without your secret getting in the way. Hate to break it to you, but I'm _thrilled_ to be a _normal_ person."

Rikki stared silently, eyebrows raised. Lewis was breathing like he had just outrun a bear. The longer she stayed quiet, however, the more he seemed to calm down, realizing what had just happened.

"I didn't mean that," he retracted quietly.

"I know."

"I'm just worried about Cleo."

"I know."

"I don't think I've ever been this scared in my whole life," he whispered.

"Me neither." Rikki had tears in her eyes. She sniffled loudly, looking away as she tried to compose herself. Lewis had his eyes on the ground.

"You don't really hate wheat germ, do you?" Rikki asked with a sudden teary chuckle.

"What?"

"That drink with the wheat germ in it. The one that made you 'want to spew?'"

"Oh yeah. A well-guarded secret," Lewis tried to smile, but just looked pained.

"At least now we know you _can_ get angry."

"It happens. It only seems to happen when…Cleo is involved," Lewis sighed, mussing his hair. "Maybe that's a sign."

"A sign that you care about her," Rikki said quietly. She was silent for a moment, her expression resigned. "Alright, listen. I'm only going to say this once, and then I'll deny that this conversation ever took place. But here goes: Cleo loves you, and you love her, and it's just making everyone irritated and upset that the two of you keep skirting around the obvious. And…and you've seen too many amazing things to not believe in magic at this point. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject for at least, like, a decade, so just…chew on that for a while."

Lewis's distinctive ringtone cut off whatever he was about to say in response. He pulled it from his pocket.

"Hi Charlotte," he answered dully.

Rikki walked away, shaking her head.

Rikki refused Emma's offer of ice cream when she walked into the kitchen. Instead she sat down at the table beside Kim, who was licking her fudge bar with less enthusiasm than usual. When the frozen treat suddenly melted off the stick, she was reduced to tears of surprise, running to her mother in the next room.

"Rikki!" Emma scolded with a hiss.

"It was an accident!" Rikki whispered back, holding up her hands in surrender. The water in the flower vase on the mantelpiece started boiling, but Emma cooled it before anyone noticed.

"I'm sorry," Rikki whimpered, suddenly feeling very young and vulnerable.

"It's okay," Emma assured her, stepping closer.

"What if she's dead?" Rikki whispered.

"What? No. That's not an option."

"But it _is_ , Emma. It's a very real option. She could be dead. Or, we might never find her."

"It's gonna be okay, Rikki."

"It's not. It's already _not okay_ , Emma! Can we face the facts here? Cleo's parents are in the same room, Kim is meek as a mouse, and Lewis just yelled at me. Everything is not okay."

Her lip quivered, and, darting past Emma, she escaped upstairs to the bathroom as fresh tears pricked her eyes. She slid down in the corner, her breathy sobs echoing against the tile and the porcelain tub. She took deep, shaky breaths, fighting the hard sobs in her throat.

Emma knocked softly on the door, asking to come in. Rikki stood as Emma entered, tears on both of their cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Rikki choked out. "That was really dramatic of me."

"Are you alright?" Emma asked quietly.

"Of course not."

A sudden movement made them jump. They both looked past the beaded curtain to see Lewis standing in Cleo's bedroom, his back to them. Cautiously, the two girls pushed the beads aside and joined him, looking around at their friend's untouched possessions. The bed was unmade, the pillows and the striped duvet rumpled from a night of sleep.

"Her fish," Emma noted with concern. She sprinkled in some food for them — and then a little extra, for they must be missing Cleo as much as any human. Rikki turned on the bedside lamp, dimly illuminating the small room in a familiar light. Lewis still hadn't moved.

"She'll be back soon," Emma told the fish, watching Lewis in her periphery. He stayed quiet, the room settling into stillness.

All three jumped as Lewis's cellphone rang. He looked at the caller and threw the phone against the wall. It clattered to the floor by Rikki's feet. The display read _Charlotte calling_.

* * *

 **Um... Well here's chapter 2 about a year later. I'm on a mermaid kick.**


	3. Well Known Lines

3.) Well Known Lines

He was already regretting this. This was not what he planned. She was not supposed to be hurt.

* * *

Lewis seemed to lose his anger as quickly as it had come. He sank to his knees on Cleo's bedroom rug, looking defeated. Emma was at Cleo's desk, Rikki on the floor by the door. They were silent except for the occasional sniffle from any of the three. Lewis's breath hitched as he spotted something in front of him, tiliting his head and squinting his eyes in confusion. He crawled forward to the foot of Cleo's bed, pulling at a tiny triangle of paper peeking out from underneath the mattress.

"What is that?" Emma asked, Rikki also standing slowly.

"Help me," Lewis demanded, attempting to lift the mattress himself. Both girls helped, freeing the paper Lewis had noticed. It was a standard manila envelope, wedged between the slats of Cleo's bed. Lewis stared at it in his hand for a moment, debating.

"Open it," Rikki told him. He bent the metal tags until the flap came free. Lewis turned the envelope upside down, letting its contents fall to the floor.

Inside were pictures. As soon as he saw what they were of — who they were of — Lewis found himself unable to touch them. He let the photographs sit in a pile in front of him, until Rikki began spreading them out so they could see each one. Every single picture was a candid shot of Cleo. Cleo laughing with friends, Cleo putting on her hat at work, Cleo eating lunch at school, Cleo looking out her bedroom window, Cleo diving fully clothed into the water. All three of them felt disturbed and violated. Lewis's stomach turned as if he might be sick.

Emma carefully picked one up, turning it over. The back was blank.

"Is there anything left in the envelope?" she whispered. Lewis peeked inside, pulling out a piece of plain paper, folded small, that had stuck to the inside seam. He unfolded it, his hands shaking. Once he had read it, he placed it in the center of the photos, smoothing out the creases so the girls could read it themselves.

"'Dear Cleo,'" Rikki read hoarsely. "'Just a reminder that I know your secret."

She looked at the others. Emma was reading the note again, as if there was some clue in the handwriting that could lead her to Cleo's whereabouts. Lewis was shaking his head, his eyes panicked, his internal monologue a never-ending pattern of _no no no no no no no no_.

"We need to give this to the police," Emma decided.

"Will it change anything?" Rikki asked, her faith in the police already long lost. "It's not like we can tell them the secret."

"No, but –" There was a soft knock at the door that interrupted her. Rikki opened it a crack, peering out into the hallway.

"What do you want, Kim?" Rikki asked as kindly as she could manage under the circumstances.

"Can I come in?"

Rikki looked to the others for confirmation. Emma was scrambling to get the photographs back in the envelope.

"What's that?" Kim asked, her eyes widening as she looked past Rikki into the room.

"Nothing."

"No! What are those? Does it have something to do with Cleo?"

"She…seems to have a…secret admirer," Rikki explained tactfully.

"Who sends her photos?"

"Creepy ones," Emma said, beckoning Kim into the room. Rikki closed the door behind her. "This isn't the good type of secret admirer."

"Is it the same person who sent the notes?" Kim asked innocently, sitting on the rug beside Emma.

"What notes?"

"Cleo's been getting notes. I don't know who they were from, but she always threw them out. She tore up the first few, but I…." she cut herself off.

"You what, Kim?" Lewis prodded patiently.

"I kept some of the other ones."

"Go get them. Please."

Kim returned not a minute later with a handful of crinkled paper. Each was written on a piece of plain copy paper, torn in half, with the uneven shredded edge at the top. None of them were signed, but all agreed the handwriting matched the note from the letter in the envelope. They got progressively more disturbing:

 _Cleo, nothing has changed. Meet me and we can discuss options._

 _Cleo, we could work well together. Don't miss this opportunity._

 _Cleo, I know your secret. Don't forget about my offer._

 _Cleo, we're running out of time._

 _Cleo, I'm losing patience._

 _"Kim, when did these note_ s start arriving?" Emma asked.

"I dunno. Awhile ago, I guess. She got one every few weeks."

"Why didn't she say anything?" Rikki sighed.

"Maybe she…thought it wasn't a big deal?" Emma suggested. "But I don't see how! These notes are really scary. She was being stalked."

"Don't you think we should've…noticed?" Lewis asked. "I mean…there must've been signs."

"Well it's not like you've exactly been around enough to notice," Rikki accused under her breath. Lewis looked at her pleadingly, his expression one of not this again.

"I can't look at these anymore," Emma said finally.

"Me neither," Lewis whispered.

Emma gathered up the photographs and notes and tucked them back into the envelope.

"We need to give these to the police," she repeated.

"Just give us a day to look into this ourselves," Rikki pleaded. Glancing at Kim, she whispered to the others, "This…admirer knows."

Emma bit her lip, glancing from Rikki to Lewis, who still had his vacant eyes on the rug.

"Alright. So, we'll hang onto this until tomorrow?" she confirmed. Rikki and Lewis nodded, and Emma placed the envelope in Cleo's desk drawer. Just as the envelope was out of sight, Mrs. Sertori poked her head into the room.

"Kim? It's time for bed."

Kim didn't protest; dark circles under everyone's eyes betrayed the common weariness.

"And Don says you're all welcome to stay," Mrs. Sertori told the teenagers in her daughter's room. "Just…let your parents know where you are, please."

Kim followed her mother out of the room, and Emma pulled out her phone, stepping into the bathroom to call home. Rikki was already texting her dad. Lewis stood with a sigh, picking his own apparently indestructible phone off the floor. When they reconvened a few minutes later, the desk drawer with the envelope seemed to draw all of their attention, like some unknown horror they couldn't bear to see but couldn't possibly ignore. They stood facing it awkwardly until Rikki finally broke the silence.

"Someone knows our secret."

The other two nodded.

"What can we do?"

"No idea," Emma whispered.


	4. No More Lies

4.) No More Lies

No matter how hard he scrubbed, it stuck stubbornly beneath his fingernails. He just couldn't get the bloodstains out of his skin.

It was unsettling to stay in Cleo's room at night, as if they were simply waiting for her to return from the kitchen with snacks for movie night. So the trio relocated to the first floor of the house, where Mr. Sertori was slumped in the armchair with his chin on his chest. He stirred at the sound of footsteps, jerking awake from his fitful doze. No one spoke, but Lewis, Rikki, and Emma settled on the couches, somehow unable to break the silence.

They sat in their thoughts for an hour. Finally, Emma jumped up and started cleaning the kitchen. Rikki had started to help her when Mr. Sertori went to bed, and Lewis was folding and refolding the throw blankets on the couch. By the time they fell asleep, cramped on the couches and armchair, the entire first floor was spotless.

After spending the night in this strange, silent vigil, none of them could stay in the house for another minute when the sun finally rose. They had to get out.

They relocated to the Juicenet, in their usual booth, staring at unusually tasteless drinks. No one spoke, though Emma and Rikki could see Ash over Lewis's shoulder, glancing at them with concern from behind the counter. He had come over periodically in the last hour, checking on their smoothie progress. Their drinks were slowly separating in their glasses, straws untouched.

The only normal event was Charlotte's untimely entrance. She slid into the booth next to Lewis, her sudden boisterous greetings shocking them.

"Charlotte, what…what are you doing here?" Lewis unconsciously jerked his head to avoid her cheek kiss, looking confused at her very existence.

"Oh, didn't you get my text?"

Lewis checked his phone, forehead tensed in annoyance. He hadn't checked his phone.

"Your text says 'cave in her,'" he read.

"Oh no!" Charlotte laughed. "I meant to say 'cafe in hour.' Autocorrect can do some silly things, can't it?"

No one else was laughing.

"Autocorrect," Lewis repeated.

"On a text message," Rikki's eyes widened as she caught on.

"What did that message say?" Emma asked, ignoring Charlotte as she tried to interject for an explanation. Lewis pulled up the message from Cleo that he received the day before.

"'Do like demon hate,'" Lewis read. He yanked a paper napkin from the holder on the table, snapping his fingers as he searched for a pen. Emma jumped from the booth, jogging to the counter and returning momentarily with Ash's pen, Ash himself close in tow. Emma tossed the pen to Lewis, who pulled off the cap and wrote Cleo's cryptic text at the top of the napkin in block letters. Do like demon hate.

"What does that mean?" Ash asked, leaning to read the message. Everyone ignored him, eyes on the black ink writing.

"Okay, let's go through this methodically. What could 'do' mean?" Lewis flicked his eyes between Rikki and Emma.

"It might mean exactly what it says," Rikki suggested. "We don't know that all of these words are wrong."

"You said it yourself, Cleo wouldn't be texting me to talk about demons."

"Alright, alright," Emma said calmingly. "Then let's start with demon."

There was a moment of thoughtful silence.

"Oh no," Lewis whispered, touching a hand to his forehead.

"What?" Emma and Rikki snapped simultaneously.

"Well, autocorrect usually tries to change words that are proper nouns — you know, names —"

"Yes, we've taken elementary grammar, Lewis."

"—and tries to make them into just regular nouns. So 'demon'…."

"Oh no," Emma's face fell into her hands as she understood.

"What?" Rikki shouted, still not making the connection.

"Denman," Lewis explained grimly.

"You mean Linda Denman?" Charlotte asked, her face brightening. "The marine biologist?"

"That's the one," Rikki smiled sarcastically.

"She's incredible. Did you know she did her PhD at twenty-one?"

"Yeah, our paths have crossed."

"And you think," Charlotte paused to giggle at the absurdity of the thought, "you think she has something to do with Cleo disappearing?"

"That crossing of paths didn't exactly have a happy ending for everyone involved," Lewis grumbled.

"So, you think an internationally famous marine biologist kidnapped a high schooler, who is – let's face it – pretty below average? Why would she ever do that?"

"To get back at me," Lewis murmured.

"To get back at you? What, because you were a bad intern?"

Lewis looked offended at that.

"Besides," Charlotte sat up straighter, "if she wanted to get back at you she'd kidnap me."

"Maybe we can trade them," Rikki whispered not-so-quietly to Emma.

"And," Charlotte glared, "Denman's been in the Galapagos for over six months. She discovered a new species of—"

"Anyway," Rikki interrupted, focusing her attention back to Emma and Lewis. "What do we do with this information?"

"It certainly makes Cleo's text make sense," Emma took the pen from Lewis and turned the napkin to face her:

 _Do = Dr_

 _Like = Linda_

 _Demon = Denman_

"What about 'hate?'" Charlotte asked smugly.

"Can't argue the fact that we all hate Denman. She is a demon," Rikki declared darkly.

"Still, if Cleo was…in danger when she wrote this," Lewis reasoned, "she would've chosen her words carefully."

"It could be 'here,'" Emma shrugged. "Or 'help.'"

"Or…almost anything else." Lewis chewed the inside of his cheek.

"She still could've just run away." Charlotte didn't hide her skepticism whatsoever.

"We should get back and check on her parents," Lewis decided, ignoring that comment entirely. He wiggled his way past Charlotte out of the booth, Rikki and Emma following a bit more gracefully.

"It's not like we can tell them this," Rikki said, hurrying to match Lewis's quick pace. "Like, 'Hey Mr. Sertori, we think Cleo's been kidnapped by a crazy science lady because she's a mermaid!' That doesn't really roll off the tongue."

"We're not going back to the Sertoris yet," Lewis said. "I just said that to get rid of Charlotte."

"Proud of you, Lewis," Rikki said only semi-sarcastically. "That's exactly how you should be treating Charlotte. Where are we going then?"

"Charlotte's probably right about Denman being in the Galapagos," Lewis began. "I mean, Charlotte sort of worships her. But it wouldn't hurt to check, right?"

Lewis's phone rang. They all stopped short. He frowned, pulling out his phone.

"I don't recognize the number."

"Answer it anyway," Emma instructed.

He shrugged, holding the phone to his ear. "Hello? Hello?" He turned to the girls. "No one's answering."

He hung up, but looked unsettled. "That was weird."

"It's probably nothing," Emma started walking again. "If it had happened any other day, we wouldn't think twice about it. It's just a wrong number."

"Yeah." Lewis sounded unsure, but fell into step with Emma. Rikki didn't move; the other two turned back when they noticed. "Something wrong?"

Rikki had her eyes fixed on something down the sidewalk. "Can we go another way?"

"What? Why?" Emma stepped closer, trying to see what Rikki was staring at. It wasn't difficult to figure out she was looking at the familiar figure walking their way. "Zane? Why, are you avoiding him?"

"I just don't want to deal with him right now."

"Did you have a fight?"

"Can we just go? He hasn't seen us yet and I don't want to –"

"Rikki!" Zane had noticed them and was now jogging to reach them. Rikki looked away as if she could pretend not to see him. Zane's expression turned confused as he came to a stop. "Rikki? Hello?"

"Hi. Uh – listen, I've got to…be…elsewhere. Bye!" Rikki smiled with false brightness and turned to leave, but Zane caught her arm.

"Wait a minute," he chuckled, leading her away from Emma and Lewis that they might talk privately.

Lewis, relieved to have escaped the awkwardness, walked to a nearby bench and looked back at his phone. Emma sat beside him, keeping her eye on Rikki some distance away, who was tensely ignoring Zane as he pleaded with her.

"What's going on with Rikki?" Emma asked. Lewis's response was entirely unexpected.

"Miriam!" he shouted. Emma flinched, Rikki and Zane turned their heads. Lewis paid no mind, already running back to the café where the girl in question was sipping a pink smoothie at an outdoor table. Emma, Rikki, and Zane followed out of sheer curiosity. Though they didn't actively avoid each other, circumstances were rare in which Lewis and Miriam would voluntarily speak.

"Yes?" Miriam looked hesitant, wrinkling her nose as she looked up at Lewis from her table.

"Do you recognize this number?" Lewis held his phone in her gaze. She shifted her sunglasses to the top of her head and squinted at the small screen. Shaking her head, she took sip of her smoothie.

"Doesn't look familiar, sorry," Miriam shrugged, pulling out her own phone.

"Look again."

"I said I didn't recognize it." Miriam didn't look up from her phone.

"Please, Miriam," Zane interjected, "just look at it. Maybe you have it saved in your phone?"

Miriam sighed, but picked up Lewis's phone again and began comparing the number to her own lengthy contact list. It took a considerable amount of time, but again she came up short.

"Sorry," she shrugged, not sounding particularly sorry. Lewis took his phone back and walked away. Emma thanked Miriam and led Rikki and Zane after Lewis.

"What's going on?" she asked Lewis when she caught up.

"Do you have a phone book?" Lewis returned. Emma looked at him.

"Not on me."

"At your house, I mean." He was entirely unamused with her sarcasm.

"Uh, probably. Why?"

"This number. I just think we should know who it belongs to."

"Do you think it has something to do with Cleo?" Zane asked.

"Isn't it worth finding out?"


End file.
